Lucknow, Jan. 23 (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to buy 15 lakh laptops from Hewlett-Packard to be distributed among students who pass high school, as promised by the Samajwadi Party in the run-up to the 2012 Assembly polls.

Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav took the decision at a cabinet meeting today. The cabinet also gave the go-ahead to a solar energy policy and another that approves opening of more sugar mills by the private sector.

Bhopal (PTI): The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to provide all-round health facilities to the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy victims. Schemes will be chalked out for economic, social and environmental rehabilitation of those affected, an official release said.

Chicago (PTI): Mumbai attack accused David Headley will be sentenced in a US court on Thursday. The US government has sought a jail term of 30-35 years as it “strikes a fair and just balance between the aggravating and mitigating factors applicable to him”, attorney Gary S. Shapiro said.

Seoni (PTI): School kids thronged to see what was once the kitchen of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose inside a children’s remand home in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni on his birth anniversary on Wednesday. Bose spent 147 days in Seoni jail in 1932. It was later turned into the remand home.

Kodaikanal (PTI): The Tamil Nadu government has given permission to the Dindigul forest department to remove eucalyptus trees from parts of Kodaikanal hills for developing a grazing ground for gaurs. The wild herbivores had caused damage to farm and commercial crops in the hills by entering residential areas.

Deoria (PTI): An FIR has been registered against three BSP MPs and the party candidate for a by-election in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhatpar Rani for allegedly violating the model code of conduct, officials said. The MPs allegedly used red beacons while campaigning.

Srinagar, Jan. 24 (PTI): A prank call by a son to his father claiming that he had been picked up by the army and was being tortured has led to the arrest of the duo.

The parents of Mohammmed Yassen Mir had lodged a police complaint against unknown army personnel after receiving the call. A probe, however, revealed that Mir wanted to teach his father a lesson following a family dispute.

New Delhi (PTI): Delhi High Court has quashed a notice issued by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation to recover alleged property tax dues of Rs 2 crore from Jamia Milia Islamia, a central university.

New Delhi, Jan. 23 (PTI): Aeroflot Russian Airlines has been ordered to refund Rs 1.30 lakh paid by a customer who bought two tickets to the US from India in 2007 but could not make the trip.

Delhi state consumer disputes redressal commission rejected the airlines plea and upheld a district consumer forums ordering it to refund the amount. Kulbir Singh, an NRI, had asked the airline to reschedule his ticket but as it could not accommodate him he asked for a refund.

Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray has been elected the party’s president at a national executive meeting. The posts of pramukh, held by Bal Thackeray and executive president have been scrapped.

Tiruchirappalli (PTI): The Indian Tricolour, which was hoisted in 1947 at Fort St George in Chennai on the declaration of India’s Independence, will be displayed in a special gallery to be inaugurated on January 26 at the Fort Museum. The flag is made of pure silk and measures 12ft by 8ft, an official said.

Kanpur (PTI): The body of a 20-year old BTech student was recovered from a drain, police said on Wednesday. Sachin kumar had been missing since last fifteen days. The police suspect he had been murdered and later his body was thrown in the drain.

Bhopal (PTI): The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to provide free pathology tests in government hospitals and health centres from next month. As many as 48 different pathology tests will be available in district hospitals, 32 tests at civil hospitals,13 in primary health centres, five at sub-health centres and 26 at community health centres.

Bhopal (PTI): The Madhya Pradesh Haj committee has announced that application forms for Haj 2013 will be available from February 6 to March 20. The forms will be available at the committee’s offices and can also be downloaded from its website.